c) On the question of how complete was the personal unity of God and man in Christ, the paraphrase on John is important. V, 30: "I can do nothing about Myself. As I hear, I judge: My judgment is also righteous: for I seek not My will, but the will of Him who sent Me the Father," It is inconceivable for us that Jesus Christ in His self-consciousness distinguished Himself, as "I," from the Logos. Theodore of Mopsuestia admits this. He paraphrases the words of Jesus Christ as follows: "I, Whom you see, can do nothing as a man by my own nature, but I do, for the Father dwells in Me; But God the Word, the only-begotten of God, is in Me, and consequently the Father dwells with Him in Me." Thus, in Christ, His human "I" could oppose itself to the Divine "I" of the Word, and, consequently, the unity of the person did not even include the unity of self-consciousness. It is not surprising, then, if Theodore distinguishes between God the Word and Jesus as "saving" and "being saved," as "beneficent" and "beneficent."

Theodore's answer to one particular question is important for history: St. Virgin Mary Θεοτόκος or άνθρωποτόκος? — She is both (άμφότερα): She is the Mother of Man — by the nature of the fact (τη φύσει τού πράγματος), since he who was in the womb of Mary was a man; She is the Mother of God, since God was in the man born of Her.

Excursus: Origenistic disputes at the end of the ΙV and the beginning of the V century.

Theodore of Mopsuestia expressed the peculiarities of his view on the Christological question more fully than Nestorius. Next, it would be natural to proceed to an exposition of the teaching of Nestorius and the history of his work. But the history of Nestorius is not only dogmatic, but it also touched upon canonical questions. Therefore a certain intermezzo is necessary, important not in essence (in the sense of clarifying the dogmatic doctrine which was the subject of the dispute), but in order to clarify the character of the persons who took part in this dispute (in so far as the question of the sees was touched upon). In view of this, it is necessary to mention the Origenistic disputes that preceded the Nestorian dispute.

There are three stages in the Origenistic controversies of this time: Palestinian, Alexandrian, and Constantinople.

1) Jerome, who broke off his moral ties with the Roman clergy, settled near Jerusalem in the Bethlehem monastery in 386. Rufinus of Aquileia was also in Jerusalem. Their alliance with John of Jerusalem was close: they were also connected by scientific aspirations, expressed in the study of the works of Origen. Jerome understood Origen's very misfortunes and misfortunes as a consequence of malice and envy of Origen, and therefore spoke of him with praise. He proudly pointed out that he used the works of Origen: hexaples and tetrapls.

Everything seemed to promise a lasting peace. But in 393, pilgrims arrived from the west to Jerusalem, led by Aterbius. They were the prototypes of what the Spanish inquisitors later represented. Aterbius was a man who did not like to talk about things for a long time; he began with conclusions, then expressed judgments (premises), and finally – already concepts – about which they reasoned. He was dissatisfied with the fact that Western people were engaged in the study of Origen, whom he had heard of as a heretic, and demanded that Origen's errors be condemned. Jerome, sensitive to his reputation as a strictly Orthodox man, compromised his respect for Origen, condemned him; Rufinus shut himself up in his house and did not see Atherbius again, so he did not renounce Origen and remained Orthodox. This circumstance alone produced a certain bifurcation. Jerome began to behave as if he had never had any respect for Origen. Rufinus, on the other hand, still belonged to the memory of Origen.

But then there appeared in Jerusalem (in 394) St. Epiphanius, bishop of Constantia of Cyprus, who apparently became a bishop in the year 367. He had lived in Egypt for a long time and was an opponent of Origenism, whence he believed Arianism had come. Jerome himself looked with respect at Epiphanius, as speaking 5 languages – πεντάγλωσσος (Jerome himself knew 4 languages). Epiphanius arrived in Jerusalem to venerate the holy places. He also had his own monastery in Palestine, in Eleutheropolis. He was well received by John of Jerusalem, Jerome and the Latins. Epiphanius, according to custom, was invited to perform the sacraments, as well as to preach. During the service, Epiphanius began to speak against Origen. The clergy were almost entirely on Origen's side; he began to grumble, and the matter ended with what was not allowed on the part of the bishop even in relation to a subordinate presbyter: John sent his archdeacon to Epiphanius to tell him to stop talking about this topic. On the same day, they then went to Golgotha in order to serve in the church that was there. Those who accompanied the procession blocked Epiphanius' way, asking his blessing and wishing to touch the sandals and cries of his garments. Out of necessity, Epiphanius stopped for some time. John did not restrain and said aloud that Epiphanius had done this out of ambition, so that the ovation would last longer. Then, in the temple, after the service, when the people were already tired enough, John of Jerusalem began to rant at length against those who represent God with ears, eyes, etc. (i.e., anthropomorphically). John's mouth finally went dry, and the people, who were waiting for the end of the service to receive a blessing from Epiphanius, were very tired. After John came Epiphanius. "Peace be to all," he said, "all that you have heard from your beloved brother in rank and your son in age, all this is true, and I fully agree with him; but let John also anathematize Origen..." There was loud laughter and applause. Everyone understood that John had been killed in the contest. Relations between John and Epiphanius became so strained that the latter was forced to go to Bethlehem, where he said that it was in vain to enter into communion with the heretic Origenist, John of Jerusalem. But he was persuaded to go to make peace, and in the evening he set off for Jerusalem, but John met him in such a way that he returned that same night.

It was decided to break ties, but it was necessary to get sweaters for the Bethlehem monastery; [Jerome himself and another presbyter Vincent had previously decided not to perform presbytery actions]. The choice fell on Paulinian, the brother of Jerome, who did not have the canonical age (30 years) and was not yet free from military service. The consecration took place in a monastery near Eleutheropolis. Epiphanius ordered the mouth of Jerome's brother to be shut, so that he would not pronounce an oath in the name of Christ and would not interfere with the consecration. The consecration took place by the hand of Epiphanius. This was a violation of the rights of the bishop of Jerusalem, i.e. John. However, Epiphanius did not in the least try to conceal this fact and, in a letter to John, himself told the details of the event, persuading John to condemn Origen. Epiphanius soon departed, and the situation of those who remained in the Bethlehem monastery was not entirely good. It was necessary to seek means for reconciliation with John.

There were two attempts at reconciliation. The first belonged to the comitus of Palestine Archelaus. For this purpose he summoned both sides to him (396, Easter). But the people of Bethlehem waited in the house of Archelaus for three days, and John still did not want to come, referring to the fact that the illness of a man had detained him. Then, two months later, Theophilus of Alexandria sent the presbyter Isidore to put an end to the strife, at the request of John. But Isidore sided with John. The consequence of the failure was that Jerome came forward in an attempt to settle the matter by letters. Rufinus alone was reconciled, departing from Jerusalem to the West (397); it was difficult to reconcile with John.

When Rufinus arrived in Rome, he met Macarius, who intended to write a work against mathematicians (who study astrology). Macarius, who had heard much about Origen, wanted to know Rufinus' opinion about him. At his request, Rufinus translated a book in defense of Origen Pamphilus, and then, at his own request, began to translate Origen's own work Περί άρχών. But he understood that the West would not be able to treat this work exclusively from the historical point of view, and therefore, taking advantage of the note he made in the previous translation that Origen's writings had been distorted in some places by heretics, he crossed some points. In the preface he had the imprudence {p. 160} to speak with praise of the presbyter Jerome, as an admirer of Origen.

The consequences of this were not long in coming. Even in the transmitted form, much in the translation resonated with decisive heresy. The Westerners, having read it, were alarmed, suspecting Jerome's Orthodoxy. Jerome got angry and made a literal translation of "Περί άρχων", in which in the preface he resolutely rejected any solidarity with Origen. As a result of this incident, a polemic ensued between the former friends. They began to mutually analyze the past and humiliated everything high in each other. It came to the point that Jerome mocked Rufinus's accent and called it a pig (grunnitus grunt). Rufinus paid in the same coin. Because Jerome had the courage to learn the Hebrew language from a Jew, a certain Barchaninus, Rufinus called him a disciple of Barabbas.

Thus, it can be seen that this dispute flared up due to Western intrigues and had no objective basis. Its further development in the West is of no interest to us. The most important issue is the complications that occurred in Egypt.

2) It is known that in Egypt, in the skete desert, there were many monastics who represented God in a bodily form. In the 11th year of his reign, in the year 399, Theophilus, in his Paschal epistle, burst out against those who represented God in a sensual image (at that time he was on the side of the Origenists). This message caused excitement. One fine day, a huge mass of monks with staffs surrounded Alexandria and demanded Theophilus for an explanation. In a moment of danger, Theophilus found himself, went out to them and said: "Fathers, I look upon you as the image of God." The disputants were satisfied, saw that Theophilus recognized the image of God, accepted the blessing and left calmed. Theophilus now sided with the anti-Origenists and began to smash Origen. But here the matter was complicated by his clashes with Isidore and the nitriotes.